State Journal

Homeward Bound

The presidents of the teachers' union and the school board in
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's hometown won't be rolling out the red
carpet when he speaks there at a charter school's graduation
ceremonies. In fact, they'd rather roll the carpet up, put it away, and
rescind the invitation.

The Republican governor has agreed to speak at the June 12
commencement of the first graduating class of the Northwest
Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy in Erie, Pa. The charter school, which
has the support of local teachers and the school board, opened four
years ago.

But in response to complaints from some of the school's teachers,
Joseph O'Hara, the president of the Erie Education Association, fired
off a letter to the Erie school board contending that the governor's
presence sends "a message to our community that denigrates and cheapens
the contribution of our members to our students' achievements."

The governor has often found himself on the outs with Pennsylvania
teachers' unions, which have clashed with him over such issues as
public school financing, looser restrictions on hiring certified
teachers, and private school vouchers.

Mr. O'Hara's May 3 letter drew a sympathetic response from the Erie
school board's president, James R. Herdzik, a Democrat. "I could not
agree with you more that this provides a high-profile forum for him ...
that we should not be providing," Mr. Herdzik wrote back. But he added
that he was the only board member who voted against letting the
invitation stand.

Tim Reeves, the governor's spokesman, called it the "height of
selfishness for [the two men] to turn their students' graduation day
into a union rally." Noting that the governor hails from Erie, Mr.
Reeves said that the governor's popularity "is off the charts up
there."